Composite-structure panel for buildings

ABSTRACT

A composite-structure panel ( 1 ) for buildings is provided, comprising a base structure ( 10 ) having a plane of development substantially parallel to the plane of development of the panel ( 1   a ). Said base structure ( 10 ) comprises a plurality of layers ( 11 ) having a plane of development substantially perpendicular to the plane of development ( 1   a ) of the base structure ( 10 ). Said layers ( 11 ) are made of corrugated laminar material and each of them defines a plurality of preferably linear waves ( 12 ) parallel to one another, which extend in a direction of extension ( 12   a ) oblique with respect to the plane of development ( 1   a ) of the base structure ( 10 ). Also provided is a wall ( 30 ) made of said base structure ( 10 ).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The subject of the present invention is a composite-structure panel forbuildings comprising: a base structure shaped like a plate and having aplane of development substantially parallel to the plane of developmentof said panel.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

As is known, currently, the most widely used building materials forbuilding walls and similar are bricks and cement.

The bricks form the internal part and the resistant part of the wall.They have extremely small dimensions but are set on top of and alongsideone another to build the walls.

The cement, or more in general, the cementitious material, is used forbinding the bricks to one another and for binding them to the floor orto the ceiling.

Furthermore, the wall made of bricks is very frequently coated withcementitious material that bestows an attractive exterior appearanceupon the part itself, as well as additional strength.

On said walls can be easily arranged shelves or brackets, furniture,shelving, picture frames and other objects, which are constrained to thewalls themselves by means of nails or screws or screw anchors, thatpenetrate into the bricks and are thus fixed thereto.

The walls described above features numerous advantages, such as its lowcost, ease of construction and possibility of supporting even quiteheavy loads consisting of furniture, radiators, shelves, and similar.

Said walls, however, present certain important drawbacks.

In fact, if said walls are economically advantageous from the points ofview of the material, they are not economically advantageous from thestandpoint of transport and of construction.

In fact, the bricks that form said walls have a high weight/volumeratio.

Furthermore, the walls described prove complex, laborious and slow toassemble.

To overcome the described shortcomings, walls are frequently made ofdifferent materials, such as in particular plaster board, wood, orsimilar.

Said walls are fast and inexpensive to assemble and have a very smallmass, but present a low strength and are unable to support shelving,furniture or brackets. Furthermore, they are not suited to absorb soundsand noises that are created in different environments.

Finally, there are other types of walls that are made of honeycombpanels.

Said panels are in fact very light and resistant, but present a lowacoustic insulation. In addition, these panels are not suited to beingcoated with cementitious material or the like; in fact, said material,in the case where it is laid on the surface of said panels, wouldpenetrate completely inside them, making them heavy and constituting awaste of material that substantially nullifies the advantages of saidpanels. They may moreover be too degradable, particularly when there ishigh humidity that frequently is present in walls and similar.

Consequently, the technical problem of how to provide an economicallyadvantageous, light and resistant panel or wall for building purposesremains unresolved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In this situation, the technical task underlying the present inventionis to devise a composite-structure panel for buildings that is able toovercome substantially the drawbacks previously described.

In the framework of said technical task, an important purpose of theinvention is to provide a light, resistant, and inexpensive panel and awall, or ceiling or floor, with the same characteristics of low cost andhigh strength.

Another important purpose of the invention is to devise a process ofconstruction of said walls, ceilings or floors that is fast andeconomically advantageous.

The technical task and the purposes specified are achieved by acomposite-structure panel comprising: a base structure shaped like aplate and having a plane of development substantially parallel to theplane of development of the panel, the base structure comprising aplurality of layers having a plane of lie substantially perpendicular tothe plane of development of the base structure, said layers being madeof corrugated laminar material designed to define a plurality of waves,the waves extending in a direction of extension oblique with respect tothe plane of development, said waves of two of said successive layershaving said different directions of extension.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Additional characteristics and advantages of the invention are morefully clarified hereinafter by the detailed description of a preferredembodiment of the invention, with reference to the attached drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is an axonometric sectional view of a panel according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a horizontal cross section of the panel according tothe invention;

FIG. 3 a illustrates a vertical cross section of a first type of panelaccording to the invention;

FIG. 3 b illustrates another vertical cross section of a first type ofpanel according to the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a front portion of a panel according to theinvention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a wall or the like, according tothe invention;

FIG. 6 is a horizontal cross section of the wall according to theinvention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of a portion of the wall according tothe invention;

FIG. 8 a illustrates a different type of wall according to theinvention; and

FIG. 8 b illustrates a further type of wall according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to the above figures, the panel according to theinvention is designated, as a whole, by the reference number 1.

The panel extends prevalently along the plane of development 1 a andcomprises a base structure 10, shaped like a plate and having adevelopment plane substantially parallel to the development plane 1 a ofthe panel 1.

Said base structure 10 comprising a plurality of layers 11, which aresubstantially parallel to one another and laying on planes substantiallyperpendicular to the plane of development 1 a of the base structure 10and of the panel 1 (FIG. 1).

Said layers 11 are preferably made of paper material impregnated withartificial resins. By “paper material” is in general meant a material ofvegetal origin present in the form of thin laminas, where the term “thinlamina” means in particular thin layers of paper, card, cardboard andother equivalent materials.

Said layers 11 are in particular made of paper of the “Kraft” type, socalled because it is obtained with the known process of the same name.Paper of the “Kraft” type is in fact characterized by a considerablestrength and toughness and presents a high-quality Havana color.

For the layers 11, said paper has preferably a density of between 20g/m² and 200 g/m², more preferably between 80 g/m² and 140 g/m².

Finally, said paper is preferably obtained by means of recycling wasteor scrap materials, so as to reduce the costs and diminish theenvironmental impact of the panel 1.

Alternatively, different types of papers can be used, such as newspaperand similar.

The artificial resins that impregnate the paper to make the layers 11are polymeric materials, preferably obtainable via the known process ofpolycondensation, so that it is possible to impregnate the papermaterial with the polymers not yet condensed and then awaitsolidification of the polymers themselves.

Preferably, melaminic resins are used or, alternatively, phenolicresins.

Said artificial resins bestow upon the paper material a high resistanceto water, humidity, and chemical agents, as well as a higher mechanicalresistance.

Alternatively, the layers 11 can be made of polymeric materials, metalmaterials, such as aluminium, composite materials, such as, inparticular, glass-reinforced plastic (GRP), or others.

Each layer 11 is made of corrugated laminar material, which defines aplurality of corrugations or waves 12, preferably waves that extend indirections 12 a, substantially linear and parallel to one another (FIG.1).

Alternatively, the laminar material can be corrugated differently, i.e.,it can present waves constituted by broken lines or curves even notparallel to one another.

The linear waves 12 preferably present regular shapes and dimensions.For example, each wave 12 has a length of approximately twice itsheight, advantageously a length of between approximately 5 mm and 30 mm,preferably between 16 mm and 20 mm, and a height between 3 mm and 15 mm,preferably between 8 mm and 10 mm. By increasing or reducing theamplitude and the height of said waves 12, it is possible, respectively,to reduce and increase the strength of the base structure 10.

The linear waves 12 moreover extend in a direction 12 a oblique withrespect to the plane of development 1 a of the base structure 10, asillustrated in FIG. 2.

Said direction of extension 12 a of the waves 12 preferably forms withthe plane of development 1 a, in the laying plane of the layer 11, anangle α of between 5° and 85°, more advantageously between one third andtwo thirds of a 90° angle, and more advantageously, still an angle αclose on one half of a 90° angle.

Furthermore, the linear waves 12 of two successive layers 11 extend indifferent directions of extension 12 a, preferably in directions ofextension 12 a that are opposite to or mirror-like with respect to theplane of development 1 a. Consequently, the waves 12 of two successivelayers 11 have directions 12 a that are inclined, with respect to theplane of development 1 a, by angles equal to +α and −α, more preferablyequal to +45° and −45° as illustrated in FIG. 2, or alternatively +30°and −30° or +60° and −60°, and so forth.

The successive layers 12 are moreover preferably bound together by meansof the same artificial resins with which the paper is impregnated, i.e.,by means of artificial resins, more preferably still by means of vinylresins or similar bonding agents. Alternatively, different bondingagents of a known type can be used.

Bonding of the layers to one another proves very simple since the waves12 extend in different directions 12 a; in fact, a top layer can rest onthe crests of the waves 12 of a bottom layer and thus define theappropriate cavities, without it being necessary to insert intermediatelayers and similar.

The space between the layers, defined by the waves 12, may be hollow orfilled by means of polymers, resins, foams and the like.

The panel 1 moreover conveniently comprises at least one edge structure20, defined for example by a lamina 21 a having a plane of developmentsubstantially parallel to the plane of development 1 a of the panel 1,and constrained to the base structure 10 via means of connection 21 b ofsaid lamina to said base structure 10.

The number of edge structures 20 are preferably two, in a way designedto cover both sides of prevalent development of the panel 1.

The laminas 21 a can be made of different materials, such as cements,mortars, cements reinforced with fiberglass or polypropylene, fabric,textile, wallpaper, woods, polymers, artificial resins, paper material,metals, and the like.

The means of connection 21 b are appropriately made of adhesives, i.e.,artificial resins, foamed polymer glues, polymers in general, cements,mortars, etc. Alternatively, the means of connection 21 b can bemechanical means, such as fixed joints, screw anchors, screws, nails,sectional elements, etc.

Particularly advantageous from the mechanical and economic standpoint isthe application of edge structures 20 made of cementitious material,mortars, resins, or other composites.

In this case, the edge structure 20 is defined by only one element,which constitutes both the lamina 21 a and the means of connection 21 b(FIG. 3 a), and for the construction thereof it is sufficient to applythe cementitious material, mortars, resins, or various compositematerials on the base structure 10 because it/they grips/grip to theouter surface of the base structure 10 itself.

The outer surface of the base structure 10, illustrated in FIG. 4, hasin fact a very uneven surface, on which the cementitious material or thelike has a high gripping power, i.e., the cementitious material or thelike is easily withheld by the outer surface of the base structure 10.It is then sufficient to apply the cementitious material on the basestructure 10 and smooth the outer surface to form the edge structure 20.

The gripping power of the outer surface, illustrated in FIG. 4, of thebase structure 10, can be varied by varying the angle α, previouslydefined.

In fact, if the angle α increases, also the gripping power of the basestructure 10 increases; the cement or other material can in fact beinserted more easily within the channels formed by the waves 12 in thebase structure 10. If, by excess, the angle α has a value of 90°, thebase structure has a structure similar to honeycomb structures; hence,it is not suitable for application of cement since the latter wouldoverfill the inside of the base structure 10.

Instead, if the angle α decreases, the gripping power of the basestructure 10 decreases, and if, by excess, α is equal to 0°, thecementitious material or the like cannot be inserted within the basestructure 10, since the channels formed by the waves 12 are not present.

On account of what has been set forth above, the angle α usually assumesvalues of between 30° and 60°, as previously indicated.

Furthermore, it is possible to increase or reduce the gripping power ofthe base structure 10 by increasing or decreasing, respectively, theamplitude and height of the waves 12.

It is then advantageous for the edge structures 20, made of cementitiousmaterial or the like, to form laminas 21 a with a thickness of between 1cm and 5 cm, and means of connection 21 b that extend within the basestructure 10 for a thickness of between 1 cm and 5 cm.

A panel 1 of this sort is illustrated in the cross-sectional view ofFIG. 3 a. It presents characteristics that are ideal for buildingapplications, in particular for ceilings, walls and floors, which willhereinafter and in the ensuing claims generally be referred to simply aswalls. Said panel 1 is in fact characterized by a high strength and alow cost. Other applications of the panel 1 are possible, such as navaland aeronautic applications; in this case, it is preferable to uselaminas 21 a made of composite, or plastic, or paper, or wood laminates.

In order to increase the strength of said panel 1, it is moreoverpossible to use special cements, or cements containing appropriateadditives. Among these, the cements with additives in the form offiberglass or polypropylene fiber or glass microspheres presentexcellent characteristics. It is moreover possible to use areinforcement mesh, embedding it in the lamina 21 a.

Said reinforcement mesh is advantageously made of fibreglass or,alternatively, steel, or even other materials.

A different solution for the construction of the panel 1 is illustratedin FIG. 3 b. In this case, the means of connection 21 a are constitutedby polymeric material or resins, in particular foamed polymericmaterial, and more in particular polyurethane foam, and the laminas 20are made of material chosen between wood, metal, polymers, reinforcedpolymers, paper, and composite materials.

Such solution enables a very light panel 1 to be obtained with outersurfaces having an appropriate coating; in fact, the laminas 21 a canconstitute substantially a veneer of the base structure 10. Saidsolution in any case affords an adequate strength which enables the useof said panel 1 for partition walls, ceilings, floors, and similar.

In the latter case, since the gripping power of the polymeric materialsis on average higher than the gripping power of the cementitiousmaterials, it is advantageous to increase the angle α, on the basis ofthe arguments set forth above.

Finally, the base structure 10 can be internally filled with variousmaterials, such as in particular scrap or recycled polymers, in order toreduce the costs and the environmental impact of the panel 1.

The invention moreover comprises a building wall 30 made with the panel1 and illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7. Said wall 30 is inserted in anenvironment that necessarily comprises other building elements 40, suchas, for example, a floor 41, and a ceiling 42.

Said wall 30 made using the panel 1 can be arranged not only as avertical wall, but also as a horizontal wall and thus forms at leastpart of a ceiling and of a floor, or the base wall of a raised floor orplatform, or similar.

Said wall 30 comprises an inner core 31 that includes a plurality ofplates 10, described previously, having a plane of developmentsubstantially parallel to the plane of development of the wall 30.

The inner core 31 moreover advantageously comprises means of engagement32, designed to join said plates together, so that the inner core 32 isformed substantially by a single base structure 10; said means ofconstraint 32 can be of chemical type, i.e., bonding agents, polymers,cements, resins, or mechanical means, i.e., screws, fixed joints, screwanchors, etc.

Illustrated in FIG. 6 are, for example, means of mechanical constraint32, constituted by fixed joints.

The wall 30 moreover comprises means of constraint 33, designed toconstrain said inner core 31 to the surrounding building elements 40,namely, the floor 41 and the ceiling 42.

Said means of constraint 33 can, also in the present case, be chemicalmeans, i.e., bonding agents, polymers, cements, resins, or mechanicalmeans, i.e., screws, fixed joints, screw anchors, etc.

In particular, illustrated in FIG. 7 is an advantageous type ofmechanical means of constraint 33, constituted by guides 34 constrainedto the floor 41 and to the ceiling 40 by means of purposely providedscrew anchors 35, metal brackets or the like.

Alternatively, the means of constraint 33 can be constituted by classicand low-cost cementitious materials.

Said wall 30 moreover comprises at least one edge structure 20 thatcoats at least partially the inner core 30. Said edge structure 20 is ofthe type described previously.

Also, in the present case, it is advantageous to use an edge structure20 made of cementitious material, as already described. Furthermore, inthis case, such a solution means that no discontinuity of the inner core30, due to the presence of a number of plates 10, will be present on theoutside, where a single layer of cementitious material is spread, asillustrated in FIG. 5.

There may be provided instead edge structures 20 made using connectionmeans 21 b, for example polymeric bonding agents or similar, and laminas21 a, for example made of wood or artificial wood, or wallpaper.

Besides may be provided, for the realization of a sound absorbing wall30, two inner cores 31 placed side by side and spaced out by apolyurethane wall preferably a perforated polyurethane wall that betterabsorbs noises. In this case the inner cores 31 have preferably athickness of about 50 mm.

In the case, where the wall 30 is arranged horizontally, as illustratedin FIGS. 8 a and 8 b, and constitutes the support for the intermediatestoreys of buildings, it assumes the name of slab floor.

In this case, the panels 1 are advantageously arranged between theload-bearing beams 36 of the wall 30 or slab floor. Advantageously, inthis case, the top portion of the wall, which substitutes the floor ofthe upper storey, is equipped with edge structures 20 formed by means ofconnection 21 b made of cementitious material and laminas 21 a made ofthe same material and having a height of approximately 2-10 cm; said topedge structure 21 a can possibly be coated with tiles or the like.

The bottom surface, instead, which constitutes the ceiling of the storeyunderneath, can be equipped with edge structures 20, which are designedto bestow upon it exclusively a high-quality exterior appearance, asillustrated in FIG. 8 a, and hence are constituted by cementitiousmaterials, mortars and similar, preferably having a thickness of lessthan 5 cm.

Alternatively, the bottom surface can be equipped with edge structures20 made using cements, mortars or similar, designed to bestow a highmechanical resistance upon the wall 30 or floor; in this case, saidbottom edge structure 20 is equipped with laminas 21 a havingthicknesses of between 2 cm and 10 cm, as illustrated in FIG. 8 b.

Illustrated in FIG. 8 a is a wall 30 or slab floor.

Finally, the cementitious material can also function by means ofconstraint 33 and by means of engagement 32. However, there arepreferably provided guides 34 and different means of engagement 32 of amechanical type, to bestow a higher strength upon the wall 30.

The invention moreover comprises a process for the construction of abuilding wall 30, which can be used also for naval or aeronauticapplications, etc.

Said process consists in arranging a plurality of plates 10, previouslydescribed, along the path of the wall 30, in constraining, directly orindirectly, said plates 10 to the building elements 40 surrounding thewall 30, and in coating said plates by means of the laminas 20 and ofthe means of connection 21 b described previously.

Advantageously, the plates are coated by application of cementitiousmaterial or the like on the outer faces of the plates 10.

The invention enables important advantages to be achieved.

In fact, the panel 1 is light, mechanically and chemically resistant,and extremely inexpensive.

In particular, the wall 30 presents economic and mechanical advantagesas compared to the classic walls made of cement and bricks.

The plates 10, which replace the bricks, are in fact far lighter thanthe latter, and can thus be conveniently transported.

Furthermore, precisely on account of their lightness and strength, saidplates 10, can have considerably larger dimensions than the bricksthemselves. This leads to a greater strength, seeing that the wall isless fragmented, and a shorter time of assembly, seeing that the piecesto assemble are much fewer. In addition, coating of the plates 10 bymeans of cementitious materials or the like is much faster and moreconvenient than is coating of classic bricks with cementitiousmaterials.

In fact, the plates 10 have a gripping power that is much higher thanthe gripping power of classic bricks, and moreover said gripping poweris a variable that can be easily selected, as mentioned previously.

The edge structure 20 can then be easily and quickly coated withcementitious or similar materials, for example by means of adequatepumps and similar.

The wall 30 is moreover very strong, and its strength is improved if itis constrained to the ceiling 42 and to the floor 41 by means of thepurposely provided guides 34.

The chemical resistance of the wall is instead bestowed thereupon byimpregnation with polymeric material, as described above. Said operationbestows exceptional durability upon the paper material.

The wall 30 is moreover transpiring, which is a characteristic offundamental importance for building elements and similar. It is alsotransparent to radio waves, which are increasingly used for variousapplications in buildings.

On the wall 30 or on the panel 1 there can moreover be arranged theclassic elements of constraint to the walls, such as nails, screwanchors etc., which are arranged on classic walls; hence, the use of thewall for the end user does not vary. Furthermore, said walls 30 cansupport shelves, brackets, furniture, radiators, and shelving, thanks totheir strength.

Finally, said wall 30 presents a low environmental impact since it canbe made using recycled materials.

Finally, the process described herein enables advantages of rapidity andlow cost to be achieved in assembly of the wall 30.

1. A composite-structure panel (1) for buildings, comprising: a base structure (10) shaped like a plate and having a plane of development (1 a) substantially parallel to the plane of development of said panel (1), said base structure (10) comprising a plurality of layers (11) having a laying plane substantially perpendicular to said plane of development (1 a) of said base structure (10), said layers (11) being made of corrugated layered material designed to define a plurality of waves (12), said waves (12) extending in a direction of extension (12 a) oblique with respect to said plane of development (1 a), said waves (12) of two of said successive layers (11) having said different directions of extension (12 a).
 2. The panel according to claim 1, wherein said waves (12) of each of said layers (11) extend linearly and are substantially parallel to one another.
 3. The panel according to claim 2, wherein said waves (12) of two of said successive layers (11) have said directions of extension (12 a) specular with respect to said plane of development (1 a).
 4. The panel according to claim 3, wherein said direction of extension (12 a) of said linear waves (12) of each layer (11) forms with said plane of development (1 a) of said base structure (10), in the laying plane of said layer, an angle (α) of between 5° and 85°.
 5. The panel according to claim 4, wherein said direction of extension (12 a) of said linear waves (12) of each layer (11) forms with said plane of development (1 a) of said base structure (10), in the laying plane of said layer, an angle (α) of between one third and two thirds of a 90° angle.
 6. The panel according to claim 5, wherein said direction of extension (12 a) of said linear waves (12) forms with said plane of development (1 a) of said base structure (10), in the laying plane of said layer, an angle (α) close to one half of a 90° angle.
 7. The panel according to claim 1, wherein said layers (11) are made of paper material impregnated with artificial resins.
 8. The panel according to claim 7, wherein said layers (11) are made of paper material with a density between 80 g/m² and 140 g/m².
 9. The panel according to claim 8, wherein said layers (11) are made of recycled paper material of the “Kraft” type.
 10. The panel according to claim 1, wherein said layers (11) are bonded together by means of an adhesive.
 11. The panel according to claim 1, comprising at least one edge structure (20) having a plane of prevalent development, substantially parallel to the plane of development (1 a) of said panel (1).
 12. The panel according to claim 11, wherein said edge structure (20) is made of cementitious material.
 13. The panel according to claim 12, wherein said edge structure (20) made of cementitious material forms a lamina (21 a), having a plane of development substantially parallel to the plane of development of said panel (1 a), with a thickness between 1 cm and 5 cm, and means of connection (21 b) of said lamina (21 a) to said base structure (10) that extend within said base structure (10) for a thickness between 1 cm and 5 cm.
 14. The panel according to claim 11, wherein said edge structure comprises a lamina (21 a) having a plane of development substantially parallel to the plane of development of said panel (1 a) and substantially set alongside said base structure (10), and means of connection (21 b) of said lamina (21 a) to said base structure (10).
 15. The panel according to claim 14, wherein said means of connection (21 b) are made of foamed polymeric material.
 16. The panel according to claim 14, wherein said laminas (21 a) are made of material selected from the group consisting of wood, metal, polymers, reinforced polymers, and paper.
 17. A wall comprising an inner core (31), at least one outer edge structure (20) coating at least partially said inner core (31), said inner core (31) comprising a plurality of base structures (10) shaped like a plate having a plane of development (1 a) substantially parallel to the plane of development of said wall (30), said base structures (10) comprising a plurality of layers (11) having a laying plane substantially perpendicular to said plane of development (1 a) of said base structure (10), said layers (11) being made of corrugated laminar material designed to define a plurality of waves (12), said waves (12) extending in a direction of extension (12 a) oblique with respect to said plane of development (1 a), said waves (12) of two of said successive layers (11) having said different directions of extension (12 a), and in that said wall (30) comprises means of constraint (33) designed to constrain said inner core (31) to surrounding building elements (40).
 18. The wall according to claim 17, wherein said core (31) of said wall (30) comprises means of engagement (32) of said base structures (10), designed to join said base structures (10).
 19. The wall according to claim 18, wherein said means of engagement (32) of said base structures (10) are of a mechanical type and are designed to form fixed joints.
 20. The wall according to claim 17, which extends between a floor (41) and a ceiling (42), in which said means of constraint (33) of said base structures (10) are of a mechanical type, designed to form fixed joints, and are constrained to said floor (41) and to said ceiling (42). 